Construction services company ISG has secured a hat-trick of north west projects. It is to carry out a £550,000 refurbishment project to convert the former Cledford Primary School, Middlewich, into offices for Cheshire East Council. ISG has also been commissioned for projects at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester to replace lighting on the track area and upgrade wiring and lighting elsewhere at the complex, and to refurbish industrial units for Cheshire West and Chester Council in a £580,000 scheme.

PLANT and equipment hire firm Hewden has secured a two-year extension to a contract to supply cranes to Hanson, one of the UK's largest suppliers of construction materials. The deal follows an agreement which began in 2010. Hanson supplies bricks, cement, aggregates, concrete and asphalt.

TAP Portugal is moving to a daily Manchester-Lisbon service from late October. The airline began operating flights on the route in July last year, initially with six a week. From October 28 it will fly daily, offering connections from the Portuguese capital to destinations in south America and Africa.

PEEL Ports has splashed out as it looks to encourage more freight to be transported along the Manchester Ship Canal.It has spent £2m on a crane at its Irlam Container Terminal. The crane is capable of lifting loads of up to 40 tonnes.Peel Ports, part of the Peel Group, has also chartered a barge which can carry up to 160 shipping containers.The investment follows strong growth in Peel Ports' barge service operating along the canal from the Port of Liverpool to Greater Manchester. In 2009 the operation handled 3,000 containers and the figure is expected to reach 15,000 this year.The new barge will travel between Liverpool and Irlam Container Terminal three times a week.

DISCOUNT retailer Family Bargains is to open a £350,000 store in Bolton, creating 35 jobs.The branch, on the site of a former TJ Hughes outlet at The Bolton Shopping Park, will begin trading on Friday week.It will be the sixth shop opened by Family Bargains' parent, The 99p Stores chain, in the north west inside a month.